Project Update : Rebuilding of the parapet - Phase 1 : the brick core
With the scaffolding now complete, construction work has begun in earnest the rebuilding of the high parapet according to the original 1820s design. The original handsome parapet with simple Grecian detailing was lost after fire in the 1880s. The reinstated parapet is being constructed in two stages - first comes the brick core (almost complete) and next the the brick surface will be rendered to create the detail.
Right: The brick parapet is being built on top of the surviving brick walls, starting at the level above the top of flat the stone columns (pilasters).
Below: The 19th-century iron frame of the former stained glass window at the west end of the building.
This ironwork will be conserved and retained in the restored building, but with clear rather than coloured glass.
Left: The brick core of the parapet wall is now under construction (view towards the south west corner of the building).
A close up view, showing the fine classical ‘capital’ or head at the top of the columns at the entrance to the church. This detail is based on examples from ancient Greece and the ‘order’ or style of the column is Ionic.
Taken from the scaffolding at the roof level, this is a view of the very top of one of the eight iron columns sited inside the building, these columns, inserted after the 1880s fire originally supported the roof and galleries. These columns will be retained in the finished building.
Work also continues inside the building with more of the site being cleared.